Maximum muscle strengthening resistance device

ABSTRACT

A maximum muscle strengthening resistance device provides a way of exercise that allows the exercising person to exert his/her full power throughout the whole time of exercise. When a volume of fluid is forced to pass through a small opening, it produces a resisting force. This invention uses this resistive force produced by the oil flow along with the mechanical force generated by a power unit such as a hydraulic pump or an electric power motor for the resisting force during the strengthening exercises. Most of the muscle strengthening exercise is consisted of consecutive concentric-eccentric exercise cycles. By using this invention, during the concentric exercise cycle the exercising person actively exert his/her full power to move the exercising handle toward the concentric direction against above mentioned resistive force of oil flow. During the eccentric exercise the power unit moves the exercising handle toward the eccentric direction and the exercising person attempts to stop the movement by exerting his/her full power. The amount of the force exerted by the exercising person during the concentric-eccentric cycle is displayed on the monitor screen for monitoring.

PRIOR APPLICATION

This application emanates from a prior Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 60/684383 filed May 25, 2005.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the field of muscle strengthening exercisedevice. In particular, this invention involves a device that enables aperson to exert his/her full power throughout the full range of motionduring the whole time of exercise when the person exercises using thisdevice.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Until now most common muscle strengthening exercises have been performedby weight lifting that equal amount of weight is applied throughout thewhole range of motion no matter how much the muscle is tired out.Therefore, initially the person performing the weight training liftsweight easily that there is not much exercise effect, and later ashis/her muscle is getting tired the exercise gives strengthening effectto the muscle. However, very soon the person is getting more tired, andhe/she is no more able to lift the weight and have to stop. If someonewants to increase speed, they need use lighter weight and work fast, butas the weight is light, it is not effective to strengthen the muscle,and need to make more repeat until the muscle is tired up, and at thatpoint he/she is no more be able to exercise fast enough to get thespeed.

It is well known that the most effective muscle strengthening exercisesare that enable the exercising person exert 100% of muscle powerthroughout the exercise range of motion.

There are three kinds of exercises. isotonic, isokinetic, isometricexercises.

Isotonic exercise is most common weight training that uses same amountof weight throughout the full range of motion but that can not give 100%muscle power exertion until the muscle is tired up and cannot lift theweight anymore. Isometric exercise gives 100% force exertion but itcannot give range of motion exercise. Isokinetic exercise, if theexercising person gives full effort to push or pull the moving elementand if the moving element can move steady speed throughout the range ofmotion it can give 100% muscle exertion, but it has not been used formuscle strengthening exercises so far, except some rehabilitationpurposes. This device is an exercise resistance that can be adapted toany kind of muscle strengthening exercise equipment so that you canreceive all the good effects that you might be getting from theisotonic, isokinetic and isometric exercises.

Basically this tool is an exercise resistance in which oil flow andmechanical force (either hydraulic pump or electric power motor) work asthe resistance for the muscle strengthening exercises. By combining thehydraulic resistive force produced by oil flow and the force generatedby either hydraulic pump or electric power motor, this device gives youa way of exercise with which you can get the maximum musclestrengthening effects throughout the exercising time.

PRIOR ART IN THE FIELD

Until now even though many types of exercising tools adapted thehydraulic resistance for resistive force, there has been no exerciseequipment that focused on exerting full power of the exercising personduring the whole time of exercise. James Shi in U.S. Pat. No. 761,100uses the hydraulic resistance for his invention however it is forphysical therapy aids purpose, and nothing related to maximum musclestrengthening exercises. Even though John Daniels in U.S. Pat. No.399,200 also uses variable resisting force for his invention in responseto a user-applied force, the mechanism of producing the resistive forceis totally different from this invention. The mechanism and structure ofthis invention is unique. And the idea of combining the hydraulicresistive force and mechanical power unit in concentric-eccentricexercise cycles for maximum muscle strengthening exercises is veryunique and has not been applied to any existing exercise equipment untilnow.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Muscle strengthening exercises is consisted of consecutiveconcentric-eccentric exercise cycles. Concentric exercise is theprocedure that the exercising person actively shortens the muscle tostrengthen against a resistant force, while the eccentric exercise isthe procedure that the exercising person lengthens the same muscle tothe direction of the resistant force. For the concentric exercise cycle,this device uses the resisting force that occurs when a volume of oil isforced to pass through a small opening. For the eccentric exercisecycle, this device uses the force generated by a hydraulic pump (inhydraulic pump version) or an electric power motor (in electric powermotor version).

During the concentric exercise the exercising person actively moves theexercising handle toward the concentric direction. Because theexercising handle is connected to the piston of the resistance cylinderset by a steel wire, this procedure causes outward pulling of the pistonof resistance cylinder set. As the piston is pulled outward, the oil inthe upper chamber of the cylinder is forced to move through a small holecalled Resistance Control Opening. By changing the size of this openingwith automatic valve, the resistance against the concentric exercise canbe adjusted to the most desired level.

As the said piston reaches to its highest point, it triggers theautomatic valve to close the resistance control opening at the same timeit triggers the hydraulic pump or electric power motor to start pushingthe piston inward of the resistance cylinder set, that is the start ofthe eccentric procedure. As the said piston moves inward, it pulls theconnected steel wire and accordingly pulls the exercising handle towardthe opposite direction of exercising person's pulling force. Theexercising person attempts to stop above mentioned reverse movement ofthe exercising handle by exerting his full power. However because thehydraulic pump or electric power motor is stronger than the exercisingperson, the exercising handle still moves in spite of his effort to stopthe said movement. And, during the attempt to stop the said movement,the exercising person is actually performing eccentric exercise usinghis full power. As the said piston reaches its bottom position, ittriggers the hydraulic pump or electric power motor to stop and theautomatic valve to open the resistance control opening so allow theexercising person to actively perform the next concentric exercisecycle.

As described above, this invention allows the exercising person exerthis maximum power in both concentric exercise and eccentric exerciseprocedure. An oil pressure sensor is installed in the resistancecylinder set and shows the pressure inside of the resistance cylinderthrough the connected monitor screen that allows the exercising personmonitors how much power he is exerting during the exercises. By changingthe size of resistance control opening with automatic valve in theconcentric exercise and by changing the speed of the said hydraulic pumpor electric power motor in the eccentric exercise, the person canexercise in various speeds while he is still using his full power.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates 3-D view of the Resistance Cylinder Set.

FIG. 2 illustrates cross section view of the Resistance Cylinder Set.

FIG. 3 illustrates a general view of the hydraulic pump version of thedevice system.

FIG. 4 illustrates the mechanism of the device system during theconcentric exercise (hydraulic pump version).

FIG. 5 illustrates the mechanism of the device system during theeccentric exercise (hydraulic pump version).

FIG. 6 illustrates a general view of the electric power motor version ofthe device system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN ENABLING AND PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

For a better understanding of the invention, we turn now to thedrawings.

FIG. 1 offers a visual understanding of how the resistance cylinder setthat is the main part of this invention looks like.

FIG. 2 shows the cross section of the resistance cylinder set thatincludes cylinder 1, piston 2, automatic valve 3, oil cannel 4, hosefrom the hydraulic pump 5, hose to the oil tank 6, upper chamber 7,lower chamber 8, steel wire connecting loop 9, oil pressure sensor 10,lead wire to the oil pressure sensor 11, and resistance control opening19. In the electric power motor version, both of hoses 5 and 6 go to theoil tank directly.

FIG. 3 shows the general system of hydraulic pump version that includesthe resistance cylinder set previously shown in FIGS. 1 & 2, steel wire12 that connects the resistance cylinder set and the exercising handle13, hydraulic pump 14 that runs during the eccentric exercise, monitor15 that is connected to the oil pressure sensor 10 and displays theamount of force the exercising person exerted during the exercise, oiltank 16, and steel wire pulleys 17 & 18 that convert the direction ofexercises.

FIG. 4 shows the concentric exercise cycle in hydraulic pump version inwhich the hydraulic pump 14 stops and the automatic valve 3 opens theresistance control opening 19. The exercising person starts pull theexercising handle 13 downward as hard as possible that pulls the steelwire 12 and causes the upward movement of the piston 2. As the piston 2moves upward, the oil in the upper chamber 7 passes through theresistance control opening 19 and moves to the lower chamber 8. At thistime, by adjusting the size of opening 19 by means of the automaticvalve 3, the resisting force for the exercise can be modified. The oilpressure sensor 10 senses the pressure of the upper chamber 7 anddisplays it on the monitor 15, and it enables the exercising personmonitor the amount of force he is exerting for the exercise.

FIG. 5 shows the eccentric exercise cycle in hydraulic pump version.When the piston 2 reaches to the highest point at the end of theconcentric cycle, it triggers the automatic valve 3 closes the opening19, at the same time it triggers the hydraulic pump 14 starts to run.The hydraulic pump 14 pushes the piston 2 downward that pulls theexercising handle 13 upward. During the upward movement of theexercising handle 13, the exercising person attempts to stop it bypulling the handle 13 against its movement. Because the pulling force ofthe hydraulic pump is stronger than the exercising person's muscleforce, the exercising handle still moves upward, and the exercisingperson exerts his full power by attempting to stop the movement. Whenthe piston 2 reaches to the bottom point, it triggers the hydraulic pump14 to stop and the automatic valve 3 to open the resistance controlopening 19, that allows the exercising person starts to actively pullthe exercising handle 13 downward that is the start of the concentricexercise procedure of the next concentric-eccentric exercise cycle.

FIG. 6 shows the general system of the electric motor version thatincludes the electric power motor 22 along with attached power clutch23, instead of the hydraulic pump in the hydraulic pump version. Duringthe concentric exercise cycle, the clutch 23 opens and frees the piston2 from the electric power motor 22 allowing the exercising person toactively pull the exercising handle 13 downward. During the eccentricexercise cycle, the clutch 23 closes, and the electric power motor 22runs and pulls the piston 2 downward that causes the upward movement ofthe exercising handle 13.

The illustrations and examples provided herein are for explanatorypurposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims,as those skilled in the art will make modifications to the invention forparticular uses.

1. A Maximum Muscle Strengthening Resistance Device comprising, (a) AResistance cylinder set that consist of one cylinder, one piston, oneautomatic valve, one oil cannel, two hoses, one steel wire connectingloop, one oil pressure sensor, one pair of lead wires to the oilpressure sensor, and one resistance control opening. (b) A power unitthat is a hydraulic pump. (c) A power clutch that attached to theelectric power motor in the electric power motor version. (d) A steelwire that connects the piston to the exercising handle. (e) Anexercising handle that the exercising person pulls for strengtheningexercises. (f) An oil tank that provides the oil for the said cylinderof resistance cylinder set and receives the back flow oil from the saidcylinder. (g) A monitor that is connected to the oil pressure sensor inthe resistance cylinder set and allows the exercising person monitorsthe amount of force he is exerting for the exercises.
 2. The device ofclaim 1 includes 2 versions; (a) Hydraulic pump version: the pullingforce for eccentric movement is provided by a hydraulic pump. (b)Electric power motor version: the pulling force for the eccentricmovement is provided by an electric power motor.
 3. A device of claim 1wherein a person who exercises using this device pulls the saidexercising handle actively during the concentric exercise cycle, thatcauses the said piston in the said resistance cylinder set moves outwardforcing the oil inside the said cylinder passes through the saidresistance control opening that gives the exercising person a resistantforce against his pulling force.
 4. A device of claim 1 wherein the saidpower unit (either hydraulic pump) provides the force to push the saidpiston inward during the eccentric exercise cycle, it causes the saidexercising handle to move toward the eccentric direction, and byattempting to stop the said eccentric movement of the exercising handleagainst the pulling force of the said power unit, the exercising personperforms eccentric exercises exerting his maximum power.
 5. A device ofclaim 1 wherein the said automatic valve opens the said resistanceadjusting opening automatically during the concentric exercises andallows the oil in the said resistance cylinder set forcefully passesthrough the opening to produce a resistant force against the pullingforce of the said exercising person.
 6. A device of claim 1 wherein thesaid automatic valve adjusts the size of the said resistance adjustingopening so that allows to set various levels of resistance during theconcentric exercises.
 7. A device of claim 1 wherein the said automaticvalve closes the said resistance adjusting opening during the eccentricexercises in the said hydraulic pump version allowing the hydraulic pumppushes the said piston inward to produce the eccentric movement.
 8. Adevice of claim 1 wherein the said clutch of the said electric powermotor is opened during the concentric exercise cycle in the electricpower motor version that frees the said piston from the said electricpower motor and enables the said exercising person to perform the saidconcentric exercise.
 9. A device of claim 1 wherein the said oilpressure sensor senses the amount of inside pressure of said cylinderand shows it on the said monitor.
 10. A device of claim 1 wherein thelocation of the said pressure sensor is not limited to inside of thecylinder, and it can be installed onto any other places like between thepiston and the steel wire.
 11. A device of claim 1 wherein the saidexercising handle in (e) clause is just one example of variousexercising harnesses for explanatory purposes and is not intended tolimit the application of this device to certain type of exercise, asthose skilled in the art will make modifications to the invention forparticular exercises.